Genny Basso
Piano
Photo: Mario Spada
“All works and styles present on this CD allow Genny Basso to demonstrate his pianistic brilliance and his comfortableness with a variety of styles. His play has eloquence, temperament, and an individual, already surprisingly mature handwriting.“
klassik-begeistert.de
“Genny Basso’s performances of pieces by Chopin and Mozart are delicate and tender, very emotional, lyrical, with fine nuances and a wonderfully gentle touch. And yet, they also pulsate with life thanks to the fine rubato and great phrasing. And as if a lot of energy has been accumulating for the better part of an hour, this energy breaks out wildly in the Tarantella Scura from Piedrigrotta 1924, the Rapsodia Napoletana by Castelnuovo-Tedesconpremiered by Walter Gieseking in 1925. There may be calmer pieces in this five-part suite, but the beginning and the end, Lariulà, are virtuosic and brilliant.“
pizzicato.lu
O sole mio, Chiove, Funiculi Funiculà – these classics are known to almost everyone. They all share a common origin in Naples. They stand for the pure Italian joie du vivre and for a lifestyle that can only emerge in the land of pizza, dolce vita, and amore. Naples-born pianist Genny Basso has devoted himself to this cultural heritage – in an authentically Italian manner, paired with the exploratory drive of a pianist.
“When I was a child, I listened to my mother play Neapolitan songs by ear. Since then, they have been dear to my heart, and keep a very special place in my artistic work. These days, I interpret them with the goal of bringing them back tot her classic origins, and I search for a style which retains their melodic character and deep meaning. This is my individual way to hank a unique country whose never-evending creativity serves as an endless source for inspiration. A land in which love and pain, hope and fear, the strive for salvation and self-destruction live side by side in an eternal battle. At times incredibly hostile, it has never lost ist desire to love. Lofty and cursed, the every-day turns into theater, poetry, music. A city inw hich everythung stays the same and anything might happen, such as the moving between misery and loneliness, the true meaning of love and the good, the meaning of life,“ says Genny Basso, who arranged all the songs in ‘Neapology‘ himself. The program further includes original works by Rossini, Liszt, and Stravinsky, in which the Neapolitan song art has also found expression.
At times, his pianistic education comes through, in the form of references to numerous composers which can be found here. In ‘Scalinatella,‘ for example, one finds references to Saint-Säens (Egyptian concert) and Liszt (Mazeppa, Study in D minor); in ‘Core `ngrato,‘ there is a lot of Puccini, and ‘Torna a Surriento‘ is marked by a pianistic virtuosity reminiscent of Skrjabin (Studz op2. N.1). Neapolitan poet Salvatore Palomba liked to say that the world of Neapolitan songs is a third world between pop and classic. The arrangements with which Basso brings new life into the songs from his Heimat likewise open up new worlds. Yet ‘Neapology‘ does not invent a new spectacular style, but is the result of a work driven by fruitful curiosity and respect for tradition. This CD is dedicated to pianist Aldo Ciccolini, who was one oft he most influential teachers of Genny Basso. About his Neapolitan student, Ciccolini quipped: “Genny Basso is a wonderful, promising, international concert pianist. I appreciate his enticing musicality as well as his unparalleled pianistic skills. He is a true artist with a strong personality who feels at home in the biggest concert halls.“ The master was right. Without his words of wisdom, this project might not have come to fruition.
Genny Basso has given many concerts in Italy, where he lives, as well as in other European countries and in Japan. He has been invited to international festivals and event spaces such as the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Hideyo Noguchi Memorial International Music Festival in Fukushima, Festival de Piano Rafael Orozco in Córdoba, Universal Forum of Cultural in Naples, Piano Salon Christophori in Berlin, Noli Music Festival, Academic Hall of the Pope;s Institute for Chriche Music in Rome, and Teatro Diana in Naples. A piano duo with Aldo Ciccolino is one of his most precious memories. In 2021, Basso gave his CD debut with the album ‘Mozart, Chopin, Castelnuovo-Tedesco‘ under the German label ARS Produktion. The album received positive critical acclaim from important publications like Pizzicato, Ritmo, and Fono Forum, and it helped Genny Basso to his nomination as Young Artist oft he Year by Opus Klassik 2021.
Genny Basso is a graduate of the conservatory S. Pietro a Majella in Naples, completing his degree cum laude. He studied piano with Luigi Averna. After winning first prize at the Città die Bacoli music competition in 2010 and Secondo Cecilia music competition in Rieti in 2012, he was accepted tot he renown École Normale de Musique in Paris, where he continued his studies with Paul Blacher. While he was living and studying in the house of famous pianist Aldo Ciccolino, Genny Basso became one of his last students and his official assistant at the maestro‘s international master classes. In 2017, Basso was jury president oft he Beethoven International Competition Asia in Japan. Since 2016, he regularly gives teaching concerts in collaboration with the department of history and music history at the university FFederico II in Naples. Because the dissemination of classical music among young people is especially important to him, he is co-founder oft he Twitch-Channel LaMusicaClassica, which has been active since January 2021 and has already shown exceptional guests such as the famous violinist Uto Ughi.